And in typical Russell Wilson fashion, the game wasn’t decided until the final seconds. But this time, an attempt by Wilson to engineer a comeback at Lumen Field in the fourth quarter — where he had previously made 20 in his career — fell short. Facing a fourth-and-5 at their own 46, the Broncos decided to let Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal. The kick sailed wide left and the Seattle crowd, which had been enjoying an unusual sight all night, left as happy as could be with the Seahawks clinging to a 17-16 victory. Seattle is now 1-0 in the post-Wilson era, a win that coach Pete Carroll will no doubt enjoy as much as any in his career. But as much of a revelation as Geno Smith was in his first Opening Day start since 2014 — completing his first 13 passes, throwing for two first-half touchdowns and no turnovers — it was a gritty defensive effort that won this one. . Three times in the second half, the Seahawks held Denver out of the end zone on punts inside the 10-yard line, twice stopping the Broncos completely and once forcing a field goal. Seattle also had the big plays it needed to force rookie Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett into a decision that’s sure to be widely questioned — instead of leaving Russ Cook on fourth down, he attempted a very tough field goal . After stopping Seattle on a three-and-out – with Smith sacked on third down by Bradley Chubb, who beat rookie left tackle Charles Cross – Denver got the ball back at its own 22 with 4:02 left and three timeouts . After a 5-yard run by Melvin Gordon III, Jerry Jeudy dropped a pass on second down that would have picked up the first. On third-and-5, Wilson escaped pressure and set up tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who fought off a Quandre Diggs tackle to lean in for the first down with 3:03 left. Carroll contested it, but the decision stood. Two plays later, Denver faced another third down — this one a third-and-2 from the 40 at the two-minute warning. With the crowd at a fever pitch, Wilson calmly hit Javonte Williams on a short pass over the middle for nine yards. But on the next play, Cody Barton picked off Williams for a four-yard loss on a pass and Wilson threw incomplete on second down. Wilson then hit Williams in the flat and got Justin Coleman to ground out to score nine. That set up a fourth-and-5 at the 46. With Denver lined up for the snap, Wilson let the clock run down to 20 seconds — the third down play had ticked with 1:11 left — before calling a timeout. Seattle called a timeout to let McManus and Denver think it over, and the ensuing kickoff just missed. Seattle made two field goal drives in the third quarter — each time forcing turnovers — that ultimately changed the game. The first came on fourth-and-1 when Quandre Diggs led defenders to tackle Melvin Gordon, who was trying in vain to get the ball over the goal line. The second came on Denver’s next possession when Javonte Williams lost the ball as he was tackled behind the line on a third-and-goal at the 1, with Uchenna Nwosu credited with the forced fumble. Seattle then forced a punt after a Denver punt that made it three. And the stout defense came mostly without safety Jamal Adams, who left the game early in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return. There was plenty of speculation before the game about how Wilson would be received by the Seattle crowd, though there was plenty of Denver orange scattered around Lumen Field. But the boos — all of which were supposed to be from Seahawks fans — drowned out the cheers at every turn, and perhaps surprisingly. Wilson was booed when he took the field with the rest of the quarterbacks for pregame warmups. He was booed when he took to the field with the rest of the team before kick-off. And he was booed when he took the field for the coin toss as one of Denver’s captains. That gave Seattle the first down, and Smith hit all four of his throws on the Seahawks’ first drive, including a 38-yard TD to Dissly when Smith dodged a rush, scrambled to his left and found Dissly wide open, flipping the pass to him. ball. for easy completion. Disley turned and ran untouched into the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead. That started an exciting first half for Smith as he completed his first 13 passes – just shy of Warren Moon’s team record of 17 in a row in 1998 – running Seattle’s offense flawlessly. Smith was 17-for-18 for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as Seattle drove to Denver’s 21 – or scored – on all four of its drives. Smith threw TD passes of 38 yards to Dissly and 25 yards to Colby Parkinson as the Seahawks held the lead for most of the first half. But Wilson mostly matched Smith pass for pass, completing 10 of 15 for 206 yards in the first half, including a 67-yard TD to Jeudy that tied the game at 10 late in the second quarter. Denver outshot Seattle 257-219 in the first half Smith drove Seattle to the Denver 7 on Seattle’s second drive. But hoping to deliver an early dagger, Carroll put it in and Smith stopped just shy of the first leg. This was the only drive of the first half that did not end in a score for Seattle. Denver punted just once in the first half, but was twice held to field goals inside Seattle’s 20, which proved the difference in the halftime score. This story will be updated. Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or [email protected]; on Twitter: @bcondotta. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. It provides daily coverage of the team throughout the year.
